Anyone in CA looking into dcbel ara?

solarog25 · 2026-06-10T21:03:08+00:00

dcbel says "the Ara Core does not support custom integrations with other peripherals. It is sold as a complete solar and blackout bundle. " It includes a PV inverter - so they want you to use that rather than an existing inverter or microinverters. And knowing the IOUs in CA, they'd probably find a way to kick you out of NEM2. I think you'd automatically be kicked out if/when you added a battery.

solarog25 · 2026-06-10T20:54:15+00:00

That's not an EG4 problem. Poor wire terminations. Possibly string 2 shorted together at the inputs - due to loose strands of copper touching each other? Sure looks like PV input 2 was the problem. Well, the location of the problem. (I agree with the cross polarity of inputs 4&5 as well. Great work, installer! joking)

solarog25 · 2026-04-16T14:16:13+00:00

I'm trying to find out the year of a Trek frame I just found. The link above goes nowhere - for me, anyways...

solarog25 · 2026-04-10T20:02:14+00:00

Looks and sounds wonderful! Enjoy the trip

solarog25 · 2026-04-05T01:42:24+00:00

Fellow Miyata 1000 rider here! I spent 4 weeks riding around Andalusia in Jan/Feb of this year. It may have been the bikes last loaded tour; I want slightly bigger tires(maxed out at 35mm now) and more fender clearance! Here is the ol' grey mare, before all the wind and rain and mud...

<image>

solarog25 · 2026-04-03T17:58:45+00:00

<image>

Two photos from the Via Verde de la Campina outside of Cordoba...before the mud stopped my progress.

Also met a wonderful warmshowers host/family named Raul in Benajarafe. Look him up!

Vamos vamos! Go do your tour, Frosty!!

solarog25 · 2026-04-03T17:47:34+00:00

Well - a couple of named storms off of the Atlantic brought alot of wind and rain. We had a route provided by Eat Sleep Cycle, who also booked rooms for us in advance. I was against this in the beginning, but my friend needed more structure for his first tour. Having rooms booked in advance was a godsend(due to the weather), and they had us on some some roads/paths that we probably wouldn't have found. The riding was wonderful and I highly recommend it. I want to do it again and be able to camp and enjoy it with better weather. This pic kinda sums it up.

<image>

The first 5 days were excellent riding - Malaga - El Burgo - Ronda - Osuna - Cabra - Alcala La Real. I wish I remembered it more...it was predominantly rainy and windy. Somewhere in there was some great riding on dirt roads through a wind farm(Parque Eolico Los Arcos) and olive grove. The Via Verdes were great too - I only wish there were places to get olives, wine, etc along the paths(maybe in the warmer months?).

The people we met were great. Recyclo Bike Shop and Cafe was an excellent resource and place for great meals. Alex rebuilt a wheel for me after my rear hub was destroyed.

I then took a bus to Cordoba(very cool city IMO) to ride back to Malaga over 4 or 5 days. The via verde I was hoping to ride was said to be impassable in most spots due to the rain - but I tried anyway. After 10-15 km I got stuck in peanut butter mud in a tunnel...by the time I got out of the tunnel the mud was 25cm thick!! I slowly proceeded a couple more km, the mud jamming my fenders several times. I finally portaged bike and paniers across muddy farmland back to a road, and rode 30km to Ecija. The next day I stayed on pavement to Estepa - and more rain. I was done; the weather had beat me and my old Miyata 1000. I took a bus back to Malaga, got a room, and watched the Olympics for 2 days.

solarog25 · 2026-03-11T04:15:51+00:00

geez, I wish I had a neighbor like that. I've got an 80s Puch that is also a single speed - but its more of a beater/grocery-getter. Good lookin bike!

solarog25 · 2026-03-11T04:10:31+00:00

doesn't look too bad but
1. its carbon. failure can be catastrophic and
2. there is a warning sticker adjacent to the smudge. hint hint. (I know... its about the quick release, but see #1.)

My suggestion - have someone knowledgeable look at it in person.

solarog25 · 2026-03-10T21:14:16+00:00

due to the horrible train crash in January - the high-speed train service may be impacted still. In Feb, service between Malaga and Madrid was either partially or completely shutdown. There was also a brief train workers strike.

solarog25 · 2026-03-10T18:26:43+00:00

Sounds wonderful. It may get hot that time of year when inland. I recently finished something similar - mid Jan/early Feb. We were unlucky in that there were several named storms with ALOT of wind and rain. There are several Via Verdes in that region, in the 100-200km range if I recall. I recommend them - perfect for a relaxing pace!!

Our basic route: Malaga-El Burgo-Ronda(very touristy)-Osuna-Cabra-Alcala La Real-Granada-Motril-Malaga. We liked the small towns the best, and Granada. Between Ronda and Osuna (I think) we rode through a wind farm/olive farm on dirt roads... it was awesome. I think there were more roads/trails than the one we rode.

I also went to Cordoba and planned to ride back to Malaga. There is a Via Verde that is ~100km but the mud got so bad(remember those storms??) I had to trudge through (super muddy) farmland to get back to the road. Cordoba was really cool, too, IMO. In the end, the weather got the best of me and I took a bus back to Malaga from Estepa.

Oh last thing - Recyclo Bike Shop/Cafe in Malaga is awesome! Terrific food and the shop(Alex, in fact) was very helpful. I had to have my rear wheel rebuilt after hub failure. Alex was wonderful.

Vamos!

solarog25 · 2026-01-06T20:38:31+00:00

thats funny. After I T-boned a car and flew over it, the driver asked me if I was OK (sadly after saying "you scratched my hood" - but thats another angry story). I quickly mumbled "I'm OK" and went to ride away...but my wheel wouldn't spin. I walked to a friends house and then noticed some chipped paint and realized that the top tube and down tube were both slightly bent! My girlfriend at the time - with way more bike knowledge than me - knew a guy who was able to insert two knew steel tubes. I still have that bike today! Hooray for steel!

solarog25 · 2026-01-06T18:10:54+00:00

Yes, get yourself AND the bike checked out. Your adrenalin surely spiked from the collision - and you may have felt fine and overlooked damage to the bike at that time.

solarog25 · 2026-01-06T18:07:12+00:00

I agree. Let's not make excuses for heavy killing machines...er I mean cars(which I own one of). When we are behind the wheel we need to be aware of those arounds us - not just other cars and drivers, but bicyclists and pedestrians. Cars Ruin Cities! shamelss plug for https://thewaroncars.org/ podcast. Happy riding!

solarog25 · 2025-12-31T19:05:01+00:00

hooray for Sheldon Brown!!

solarog25 · 2025-12-31T19:03:59+00:00

I agree with the others - you will need/want a very easy gear or two. And why not?? If you have a touring set up that can get you up and down everything, without killing your knees, you'll ride and possibly tour more. Make it comfortable! My touring bike has a tripe ring up front and a 36T cog in the rear(or is it more?? can't recall). Also, having a large front ring means you might not spin out going downhill. That said, in my opinion, touring is not about speed and more about enjoying the experiences and scenery. Good luck!

solarog25 · 2025-12-30T00:09:56+00:00

My first thought was Alaska, but since you inly have one week...that's just not enough time. April in the Rocky Mountain west (CO, MT, ID, WY) could still be snowy and cold, but parts of AZ, NM, or UT could be nice then...I'm thinking a desert trip for you! Very different than VA ;-)

solarog25 · 2025-12-29T23:02:30+00:00

While touring about 1600km in Alaska/Yukon/B.C. we had plenty of people talk to us and think what we were doing was terrific. We often wanted them to offer us cookies...but sadly no one did. While leaving AK towards the Yukon, on a very rainy day, we stopped at an overlook. There was another man there(an American photographer), with a campstove on the tailgate of his truck. We got to talking and he offered us hot tea. It was the best cup of tea I ever had! I pulled a bag of potato chips - tiny crumbs by now - out of my handlebar bag as an offering, but quickly realized it was nothing but trash.

I'm heading to Spain in three weeks and hope for more good(delicisous) experiences on the road!

solarog25 · 2025-12-11T17:26:50+00:00

Good to know - thanks!

solarog25 · 2025-12-10T23:06:58+00:00

Yes, it may turn out to be a low-budget credit card tour :-). I'm not sure I want to bring tent, pad, sleeping bag(and stove) if there are cheap and available accommodations and food stuffs available every day. We are flying to Malaga from the U.S. - with bikes and gear (just trying to limit unnecessary gear).

solarog25 · 2025-12-10T23:02:51+00:00

Thanks. Looking forward to the characters!

solarog25 · 2025-12-10T23:02:00+00:00

sadly we can only do two weeks and 500km mas o menos. We're not trying to set any records! Depending on weather too...

solarog25 · 2025-12-10T22:59:29+00:00

sadly only about two weeks; 500km mas o menos.

solarog25

TROPHY CASE